Belt & Road BLOG

Our weekly blog discusses a range of key topics related to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We encourage a plurality of views on the BRI and regularly invite guest contributors. We welcome all feedback and are open to guest contributions, please get in touch if you have an idea you would like to contribute. For real-time BRI updates, please follow us on Twitter.

Of the many faces of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), agriculture is one of the least discussed by international news outlets. Yet, Chinese experts and policymakers alike have spoken about the potential of the BRI to drive agricultural “going-out” and help realize China’s - and the world’s - food security through improved yields and import diversification. Timing also helps. As Beijing retaliates against Trump’s tariffs by blocking soybean shipments from the US – where a third of its imports of the crop originated in 2017 – the need for agricultural diversification has been further strengthened.

Don Lewis, one of the foremost international experts on international trade law and in particular Chinese law breaks down the legal framework for BRI for the layman. Among other topics important to all people and companies doing business with China today, Don discusses China’s “BRI Architecture” The legal roadmap for the Cyber/Digital Silk Road and what opportunities exist fo foreign businesses.

Much has happened in the triangle of China-EU-US relations over the last month, with four significant events occurring within a short space of time. This year's 16+1 China - Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) summit overlapped with the US launching $34 billion of tariffs against China, which officially started the long anticipated trade war on July 6. This prompted Premier Li Keqiang to openly criticize the US in his speech to his CEE counterparts and to promote the idea of closer China-CEE and China-EU cooperation.

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